itscurtains | OVERTURE

You wake up, and realize you don’t remember how you got here.

This bed is soft and warm, but it’s certainly not yours. And the room is unfamiliar - unless perhaps you’re an actor, seeing as it looks almost exactly like every dressing room in the world. It's not quite large enough to fit the bed and trunk comfortably alongside the vanity, but it what it lacks in open space, it makes up for in coziness. This could be something you’ve seen in a movie, or dreamed about experiencing one day. But whatever the case, you aren’t supposed to be here.

There’s a silver key resting on your vanity, along with a thin program booklet. The cover - where the name of the show would usually be - is blank, but if you flip through it, you’ll find some startlingly familiar information. Maybe a few familiar faces as well…

The hallway outside is narrow and poorly-lit, lined with star-studded doors. But if you make your way past them and out into the lobby, you’ll find something entirely different: an elegant, refined opera house. Crystal chandeliers glitter overhead, and the red carpet is perfect for putting on a show. A large clock on the northern wall marks the time, though with the windows shuttered and locked it's difficult to tell whether it's morning or night. There’s also some framed information pinned up that you might find helpful. If you explore further into the adjoining wings, in fact, you'll see there's an identical copy in every room.

There’s also two sets of double-doors in the lobby: one leading back the way you came, deeper into the Opera House, and one leading out. For the moment, neither of them will open.

It looks like you’re stuck. But hey - at least you aren’t alone.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Ah... Mm. [She nods.] I know a boy like that... I understand what you mean, that would just lead to more pain and... Th-then I'm glad you have, ah...a firm grasp of the danger of our situation?

[....she's trying]

I... feel like I agree with what you're saying.

[If she understood that correctly.]

Yeah. So you get it too, then? Given how freaked out you seem.

I...already have, uh, trouble enough interacting with strangers, so...yes, this is far from any kind of ideal.

Really? Because you seemed really calm and collected to me.

[Nervous...laugh... Is she being sarcastic.]

I-if I may say so, ah, your honest attitude is...refreshing. Even in a place like this.

[a soft noise of amusement]

I'm going to assume I should take that as a compliment.

Oh, it is, it is! G-genuinely, I mean nothing bad by it!

It's cool, seriously.

[she's under no illusions that some people might find her bluntness offputting]

So, are you just really shy, or...?

[She nods, a little flustered.]

I've never been good at making friends. I've, ah, gotten better spending time with my club, but it's a work in progress.

I mean, you seem nice enough, I guess.

[this is high praise from her tbh]

What club are you in?

[aw thanks she's honored c: ]

The Occult Research Club.

[......yeah]

...Huh. Didn't think you were that type.

What kind of stuff did you research?

Looks can be deceiving, so the saying goes! Mostly rumors, and urban legends. Like the slit-moused woman, or the human-faced dog.

Uh, can't say I've heard of either of those.

I think they're exclusive to Japan... The dog is harmless enough, but the woman is a grisly tale.

Wanna fill me in?

[she's curious despite herself.]

[oh well! D-ne pushes a strand of hair behind her ear and talks low and excited, like she's answering a question in class.]

If you walk alone at night, you may be approached by a woman wearing a surgical mask. She'll ask you, "Am I pretty?" If your response is no, she'll take out a pair of scissors and kill you. If you answer yes, she'll remove her mask...to reveal her mouth slit from ear-to-ear.

Now, she will ask you, "How about now?" If you say no, she will cut you in half. If you say yes, then she will be pleased! ...And she will slit your mouth like hers in her gratitude.

...Wow. That's a lose lose scenario if I ever heard one.

[much like the bookmark, she doesn't think it's true, so there's no real distress in her tone]

What about the dog person or whatever it was?

She's a very wicked women, yes! There is a way to get away from her, though, all you have to do is confuse her. Say she looks alright or ask if you're pretty instead, and then run away while she tries to comprehend. That doesn't make for a super scary story, though.

[as for the dog-]

The human-faced dog, that one's just sort of sad. They run along the highway at night, at very fast speeds, and if you try to speak to them, they usually just tell you to go away. They're one of the few urban legends that actually don't try to kill you at all! They're said to be either escaped scientific experiments or spirits of car crash victims.

Well, malicious and easily confused isn't the worst combination out there, I guess. Better than malicious and super smart.

[a pause, trying to understand that.]

So... I get the experimentation part, but if they died in a car crash, where does the human dog hybrid thing come into play?

I think the idea is that if you died in a car crash and were reincarnated as a dog, some of your human personality still remained? It'd explain why they only stick by roads, like something's calling them.

Man, that would suck. Do they still have, like compulsions to do dog stuff? Because that would be pretty awkward if you still have human consciousness.

[stop bringing existential quandaries to urban legends natalie]

...I have never considered that?

[oh my god it suddenly got scary?!]

[a short pause.]

Okay, I'm making the executive decision that both of us should stop considering it right now.

[Nod and beam!]

Continuing on this train of thought will only lead to unhappiness and pain!

[don't say weird things with a big smile on your face]

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